Thread: UBS forced to give up tax cheats

ZURICH (Reuters) – Clients of UBS facing disclosure of their accounts to U.S. tax authorities were not harmless victims and legal cases against former UBS bankers did not affect the bank, its chairman told Swiss Sunday newspapers.



"The clients are not just harmless victims. They knew what they wanted to evade," Kaspar Villiger, chairman of the world's second-largest wealth manager, said in an interview with SonntagsBlick.



"But they trusted the bank that it would work. Now we have to correct that," said Villiger, adding it was still not the responsibility of UBS to make sure clients paid their taxes.



Switzerland last week agreed to reveal the names of thousands of UBS's rich U.S. clients to Washington, settling a tax-avoidance dispute that had battered the bank's reputation and damaged Switzerland's prized bank secrecy.



Villiger did not believe systematic tax evasion had been a problem in countries other than the United States, he said in a separate interview with NZZ am Sonntag, adding that legal action against former U.S. bankers did not affect the bank.



"The personnel consequences have been solved in so far as those responsible no longer work for UBS. We have not discovered any misdeeds relevant to Swiss criminal law," Villiger said. "That means we have no reason to take action against individual employees."



Under Swiss law, tax fraud is a criminal offence, while tax evasion is punishable only with a fine.



Villiger did not expect the introduction of an automatic exchange of client data between countries in future.



"If Europe took unilateral action to introduce an information exchange and also forced this on Switzerland, money would flow to Asia in a big way," he said.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090823/bs_nm/us_ubs_tax_1



The good news is that this spells the beginning of the end for the crony capitalists. The US government should seize ALL their assets and let THEM work for Wal Mart for awhile.

[quote name='johnlocke' date='23 August 2009 - 01:40 PM' timestamp='1251049256' post='9998']

ZURICH (Reuters) – Clients of UBS facing disclosure of their accounts to U.S. tax authorities were not harmless victims and legal cases against former UBS bankers did not affect the bank, its chairman told Swiss Sunday newspapers.



"The clients are not just harmless victims. They knew what they wanted to evade," Kaspar Villiger, chairman of the world's second-largest wealth manager, said in an interview with SonntagsBlick.



"But they trusted the bank that it would work. Now we have to correct that," said Villiger, adding it was still not the responsibility of UBS to make sure clients paid their taxes.



Switzerland last week agreed to reveal the names of thousands of UBS's rich U.S. clients to Washington, settling a tax-avoidance dispute that had battered the bank's reputation and damaged Switzerland's prized bank secrecy.



Villiger did not believe systematic tax evasion had been a problem in countries other than the United States, he said in a separate interview with NZZ am Sonntag, adding that legal action against former U.S. bankers did not affect the bank.



"The personnel consequences have been solved in so far as those responsible no longer work for UBS. We have not discovered any misdeeds relevant to Swiss criminal law," Villiger said. "That means we have no reason to take action against individual employees."



Under Swiss law, tax fraud is a criminal offence, while tax evasion is punishable only with a fine.



Villiger did not expect the introduction of an automatic exchange of client data between countries in future.



"If Europe took unilateral action to introduce an information exchange and also forced this on Switzerland, money would flow to Asia in a big way," he said.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090823/bs_nm/us_ubs_tax_1



The good news is that this spells the beginning of the end for the crony capitalists. The US government should seize ALL their assets and let THEM work for Wal Mart for awhile.

[/quote]

Can't wait to see the list of who got busted. Bets on Bush buddies?

[quote name='johnlocke' date='23 August 2009 - 01:40 PM' timestamp='1251049256' post='9998']



Under Swiss law, tax fraud is a criminal offence, while tax evasion is punishable only with a fine.



[/quote]



I find this part to be very interesting. Going to check into it a little bit.

[quote name='johnlocke' date='23 August 2009 - 04:09 PM' timestamp='1251061784' post='10196']

Can't wait to see the list of who got busted. Bets on Bush buddies?

[/quote]



My bet is on both people from the left and from the right somewhat equally.

[quote name='nonsqtr' date='23 August 2009 - 04:31 PM' timestamp='1251063103' post='10212']

I find this part to be very interesting. Going to check into it a little bit.

[/quote]



And under US law tax fraud and tax evasion are both illegal but tax avoidance is allowed. I believe tax evasion is not a problem in other countries because they largely ignore instances of it; turn a blind eye and you can pretend it does not happen.

[quote name='johnlocke' date='23 August 2009 - 12:40 PM' timestamp='1251049256' post='9998']



The good news is that this spells the beginning of the end for the crony capitalists. The US government should seize ALL their assets and let THEM work for Wal Mart for awhile.

[/quote]



It means that they will find new ways to shelter their income and some other bank will prosper.



What the US should do is to fairly prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law imposing fines or imprisonment where appropriate and then make them pay what they owe. To seize ALL their money would be against the law.

[quote name='Stinger' date='24 August 2009 - 07:13 PM' timestamp='1251155580' post='10590']

Or Gore and Clinton and Obama's? Maybe Soros or Rich?

[/quote]

Bush, Rove, you know, the righties...